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Before the Lansing area had Beaner’s, which later became Biggby’s, there was a cozy little downtown coffee spot on Washington Square affectionately known as “The Bean.”

Partners John Stimson and Ken Peck opened the Sensuous Bean coffee shop on July 9, 1979.

"The Bean" had coffees no one else had and teas, as well.

The idea was to “let customers come in and experiment and taste,” Stimson told the Lansing State Journal. They hoped to educate their customers' palates.

The shop was light and airy, decorated with antiques, ceiling fans and potted plants. There were barrels of coffee beans, coffee makers and grinders. Mugs, teapots and exotic teas lined the shelves. They hosted pottery demonstrations and live music.

Both Stimson and Peck were involved in community theater and the shop soon became a favorite of those from the Lansing theater scene and lots of others.

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Jim Burton works at the Bean part-time when he is not woking as an actor at BoarsHead Theatre. Here, he removes a customer's cup from a rack, Feb. 16, 1988. Customers may bring in their own cups and they are kept for them if they wish. Lansing State Journal file photo

Jack McDermott, an employee of the Dancing Goat coffee house in downtown Lansing, polishes the old Shaws jewelry sign on the handicapper ramp, April 30, 1994. The coffee house was scheduled to open later that week. Lansing State Journal file photo

Anne Ottaway , owner of Cuppa Java located in Hanna Plaza in East Lansing with a glass of her coffee. Employee Wayne Maki fills an order from a coffee container, May 27, 1997. Lansing State Journal file photo

Judith Corlett, proprietor of the Dancing Goat coffeehouse in downtown Lansing, stocks her pastries in her newly opened coffee shop, June 1994.(Photo: Lansing State Journal file photo)

She told the Lansing State Journal in 1994 that the name "Dancing Goat" was from a myth about the discovery of coffee beans by an Arabic shepherd. He watched his sheep and goats dancing around a coffee bush after eating the berries.

The coffee house served cappuccino, espresso, gourmet coffees and pastries and had live entertainment in the evenings.

Coffee lovers were able to get something a little stronger than a latte at the Dancing Goat by April of 1998. They were the only coffeehouse in the city with a liquor license.

But The Dancing Goat closed its doors that November, citing too much competition for relatively few downtown dollars.

Caffe Venezia was located on the Ann Street plaza in East Lansing, an ideal place for observing student comings and goings.

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Esmeralda Perez, left, and Kamahra Ewing do homework and enjoy Caffe Venezia in East Lansing, July 18, 1996.(Photo: Lansing State Journal file photo)

The pale cream and wood interior and and tasteful Impressionist prints on the walls in the spacious building helped give it a relaxed vibe. The owner didn't ever want her patrons to feel pressured to leave. They could stay as long as they liked.

And, of course, like many other coffee spots, there was live music at night.